The Underworld: Snapshots
by PheonixShadow
Summary: Mafia AU// Set in the shady Underworld, where Mafias and gangs rule the streets, and no one is safe even in the protection of their homes. Ruled by the Three Lords, welcome, to the place of danger, adventure, power... because your name means everything.


**A/N: Back after a long disappearance. I started this little something a while ago, but never managed to finish it until now. It is somewhat a sequel to Underworld: The Bait. Shorter than the previous chappie, sorry for that, and I've decided to make this a collection of one-shots (connected or un-connected) set in the Underworld universe. But I don't know when the next one will come, so, if you have any ideas or suggestions, go ahead and tell me. **

**I meant to post this for Ryoma's birthday, but I had no access to computers a few days back, so here it is now. Happy Birthday to our cute little kitten, and Merry Christmas to everyone else. :) I kow many people wanted a sequel to Underworld: The Bait; so hopefully this will satisfy you for a while. It might not be what you are looking for, but hopefully you'll enjoy the fluff anyways(holiday joy~). XD**

Disclaimer: PoT characters do not belong to me, as much as I'd wish for them to...

Summary: Mafia AU Where Ryoma gets bored and let's himself get caught. Set in the shady Underworld, where Mafias and gangs rule the streets, and no one is safe even in the protection of their homes. Ruled by the Three Lords, welcome, to the place of danger, adventure, power... because your name means _everything_. In this chapter, Ryoma finds himself grounded, because _Buchou said so, _and what else can our little prince do but sleep? Mainly flashbacks.

Pairings: Thrill Pair / slight Imperial Pair

Warnings: Possible OOC, and lotsa FLUFF. XD

* * *

Interlude - Dreams

Ryoma sighed and flopped onto his back to stare at the ceiling. Ever since the little stunt he pulled off a few days ago, he was locked in his room as punishment, and to make matters worse, the security on him was so tight he couldn't even escape! Sighing for the umpteenth time, the golden-eyed prodigy threw a random book off his bed.

Banning him from going outdoors was fine, at least he still had others to spar with and the T.V in the living room proved to be more than entertaining. But to be stuck in his room, there was the _tiny little problem_ called Boredom. He was so utterly _bored_. At first, it wasn't so bad, but playing computer games could only take up that much of your time. And all the books on his shelf were practically falling apart from being read so many times. And so? Our little genius was left with nothing to do, and _was currently bored out of his mind_.

"Why does Buchou have to give Syusuke a mission at this time?" He mumbled to himself, wishing his boyfriend was here. Syusuke always sneaked new games and books in, and no one dared to stop him either. And if Ryoma didn't want to play games, there were _other_ things- Ryoma groaned. Thinking of that was not helpful in the least.

Grumbling under his breath, he fought the urge to get up and kick the wall. He suddenly felt drained of energy, limbs weighing him down.

"Can boredom really kill you?" He wondered out loud. Feeling his eyelids grow heavy, he let them flutter close. A hazy black cloud greeted him, pulling him into its deep dark depths-

* * *

_Gentle hands lowered him onto pristine sheets. White. Soft. Hm, a familiar voice. So gentle… A song. Who's that calling him?_

"_Ryoma." _

_That soft lilting voice. Oh, such pretty brown eyes. _

"_Ryoma, my little baby~" _

_He felt warm. Safe. Comfortable. Yawning, he stretched his little pink mouth, hands curling into tiny fists._

"_Oh, honey, look at him. Isn't he adorable?"_

_Soft. So soft. And white. Snuggling into the pillows, tufts of greenish black hair poked out from its soft folds. Large hazel peered out from the blankets. _

"_Sleep well Ryoma." _

_That voice. It's louder, rougher, but familiar all the same. He gurgled happily, kicking his small legs when large hands tickled his tummy. Then, another hand joined, but to tuck the blankets around the small body._

_Little Ryoma closed his eyes and sighed sleepily. _

* * *

- the clouds were swirling, tugging, almost inviting. Twisting, Ryoma pulled the sheets around him, turning-

* * *

"_Mama, what is that?" Small fingers pointed at a colorful corner of "something", sticking out from under the sofa._

"_Where, honey?"_

"_There." Tugging at her sleeve, Ryoma pulled his mother down onto the floor with him. "See?"_

_Ringo reached out and grasped the little piece of paper. She gave a soft pull; it didn't budge. Feeling the familiar jolt of anger running through her body, Ringo sighed in frustration and grasped the tiny edge with both hands. She gave one big heave- the entire sofa seat flew lose, piles and piles of magazines exploding out into the room. _

_Ryoma glanced curiously at the pieces of paper in front of him. He frowned cutely._

"_Mama, why are there so many naked women? Are they playing a game? Mama, are you okay? Why is your face turning all red-"_

"_Echizen Nanjiroh." Ringo gritted out. Her fists were clenched tightly around a volume of Playboy._

"_Ringo-chan, what-" Said man wandered into the living room at that moment, freezing at the sight of his collection thrown everywhere and, he gulped; a fuming, absolutely livid, ready-to-kill wife._

"_ECHIZEN NANJIROH, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She roared, demonic aura flaring around her. Climbing swiftly to her feet, she took off after the escaping man. _

"_Ringo-chan! You weren't meant to find-"_

"_Nanjiroh! You dirty old perverted-"_

"_Forgive me Ringo-chan-"_

"_I'M GOING TO BURN ALL YOUR MAGAZINES, YOU CHEATING OLD MAN!"_

"_NO!"_

_Ryoma sat on the carpeted floor, head tilted to one side. _

"_Why is Mama angry with Papa?" He wondered, turning to stare at the magazines on the floor. _

* * *

- it all felt so hot, the sheets were suffocating him. Ryoma groaned and pushed them away from him, reaching out for the cool stark white of his pillow-

* * *

"_Ryoma, I want you to hit all these balls, okay?" _

"_Okay."_

_Nanjiroh ruffled the eight year old's hair, knocking off his hat in the process. Ryoma gave a small humph, and bent down to pick it up, jamming it onto his much smaller head. His left hand clutched at a bright red tennis racket, the plastic smooth under his touch._

"_You ready?" Nanjiroh called out from the other side of the net._

"_Yup."_

"_Here you go-"_

_Thonk- the ball bounced off the racket and hit the net. Ryoma pouted. He wanted it to go over!_

"_One more time."_

_Thonk- the ball flew over the net and landed outside the court. Ryoma frowned. Why didn't it go the right way?_

"_One more time." _

_Thonk- the ball dropped over the net and rolled to a stop at his father's feet. Ryoma stared at it, then changed the grip on his racket._

"_One more time."_

_Thonk- the ball landed in the middle of the other court, before bouncing towards the back. Ryoma grinned._

"_One more."_

_Thonk- the bal sailed smoothly over the net, and Nanjiroh caught the bounce. Ryoma smiled a little wider. He was doing it!_

"_One more!"_

_Thonk- the ball connected with the racket. Thonk- it cleared the net, bouncing a little behind the service line. Thonk- it reached the back court this time. Thonk- Ryoma cheered as it hit his father on the foot. Thonk-_

"_You're doing good Ryoma." _

* * *

- A cool breeze blew through his balcony windows, curtains lifting their feet slightly, as the boy on the bed shivered-

* * *

"_You're not doing it right, Chibisuke." _

_Ryoma glared at the older teen. "Shut up."_

_The older boy was unfazed. "You throw it like that!" _

_Ryoga raised his arm, bending his arm at the elbow. Taking careful aim, he swung his arm up and above and rotated his body to face left. The dagger embedded itself deep in the center of the blaring red dot. "See?"_

_Ryoma scowled. "Che. I could do better."_

"_Go on, show me what you've got, Chibisuke."_

_Ryoma drew his dagger._

* * *

- pulling at the blankets which pooled at his feet, Ryoma wrapped the sheets around him like a cacoon, tufts of black hair sticking out from under-

* * *

"_Oi, Shounen, come over here." Nanjiroh called out. A t__hirteen__ year old trudged out from nearby bushes, cap green with grass stains. He made his way over to the two adults and watched them quietly._

"_Is this the boy you wanted me to take in?"_

"_My idiot son, yeah."_

"_You are Ryoma, right?" _

_Ryoma nodded at the aging woman. Ryuuzaki, he thought, oyaji's trainer. He had heard stories about her, the brutal training sessions and horrible teasing his father had endured from "the old hag" as he puts it. Ryoma thought she looked rather stern._

"_Nice to meet you." He said politely._

_Ryuuzaki raised an eyebrow. "Much politer than you were, Nanjiroh. Rinko-chan taught him some manners, hmm?"_

"_You old hag…" Nanjiroh gritted through his teeth. "Argh!"_

_A smile tugged at Ryoma's lips as he watched his father get an ear full from the old woman. Perhaps it may not be so unpleasant, living with her and her other students._

"_So, say your goodbyes Ryoma." Ryuuzaki said. "You'll be under my care from now on, until I say so."_

_Ryoma turned to his father. "Bye." He said flatly. _

"_Don't take the tone with me, boy. Aren't you gonna miss me?"_

"_No."_

_Not at all, he thought, if it means some peace and quiet without your silly antics. And Karupin wouldn't suffer so much in your hands either._

_Nanjiroh scratched his head awkwardly. "Ok then. Take care of yourself and call home often, or your mother will come whining to me." He reached over and gave his son an one-armed hug, then set off, humming cheerfully._

_Ryoma stared after him. "Hn."_

"_Well, this way then." Ryuuzaki called out. "It's time for you to meet the others."_

_He didn't realize others meant three idiots and two strange girls. _

* * *

- Ryoma felt so warm, so comfortable, so lazy… sighing contently, he turned onto his front and buried his face into the soft smelling pillow-

* * *

_The cellar was dank and musty. As the door clanked shut behind him, he drew out his hat from his pocket and pulled it over his head. There. Much better._

_Deciding to explore, he wandered around aimlessly, careful not to bump into anything. The old toilet in the corner looked especially disgusting, and he was not particularly fond of rats. Rounding a corner, his foot landed on a something-_

"_Um, hello?"_

_A light was shined in his face, momentarily blinding him. The mystery voice must have realized his plight, because the light dimmed. Lifting his eyes, Ryoma stared into long thin face of a boy who was probably no more than a year or two older than him._

"_Who are you?" he asked bluntly. _

_The other teen looked somewhat taken aback by his frank tone, but replied. "Fuji Yuuta of 's."_

_He didn't expect to meet a psychotic Fuji Syuusuke just a few hours later. _

* * *

-"Ryoma." A gentle voice nudged at his ears. "Wake up baby." –

* * *

_Ryoma lent back, the metal wires of the fence cool on his back. Tipping his head up slightly, he surveyed the noisy tennis courts. _

_Momo-sempai, arguing about some trivial thing with Kaidoh-sempai, had accidentally knocked over a basket of tennis balls, and were now rushing to pick them up before they rolled away from him. Ryoma smirked. The two were hot headed as always. _

"_Hoi, hoi! Nya, Oishi-" _

_Ryoma would have winced at Kikumaru's loud voice, if he wasn't used to it already. The exuberant red head gave him one of the most painful greetings he had ever had (which was saying something, as he nearly had his arm cut off once), a massive bone-crushing bear hug. It was only due to Oishi's mothering tendencies which saved him from suffocation. Not so fun there, he thought._

_And Inui-sempai… he noticed another murky-coloured, bubbling drink in his hands. Ryoma shuddered inwardly, those drinks were vile. _

"_Everyone gather around." Tezuka's voice rang out. Ryoma glanced up at where the captain stood, framing the door to the house._

"_We have some trouble to deal with."_

_And playtime was over._

* * *

Ryoma yawned and flicked away the hand which poked at his cheeks. "Back already?" He mumbled. He looked up to see a sly grin on his boyfriend's face.

"Oh, that didn't take long at all." Fuji sighed. "What a disappointment."

"Mhm."

"I bet you were bored." Fuji leant down and blew in the boy's ear. Ryoma swatted him away and sat up. "Wanna go out and play?"

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"'Cuz Buchou said so."

"Since when has that ever stopped me?" Fuji dragged the smaller boy off the bed. "Come on."

They spent the rest of the day sneaking around and planting booby-traps around the place. Later in the day found Ryoma lounging in Fuji's arms, the two hiding in the attic as chaos erupted below.

"FUJI!"

"Saa, I think Tezuka's mad."

~ Owari~

* * *

**A/N On the short side, but hope you enjoyed it anyways. Sorry for those hoping for more action, but it's Christmas and school killed my brain. :) I'll try my best to bring more goodies next time. Merry Christmas!**


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